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Fate of Silver Nanoparticles in Constructed Wetlands—a Microcosm Study

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Abstract

Nano-enabled materials are produced at growing volumes which increases the likelihood of nanoparticles being released into the environment. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are likely to receive wastewater containing nanoparticles leaching from products during usage. Therefore, we investigate the retention of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in microcosms simulating CWs treating domestic wastewater. The effects of aeration and organic matter content on the Ag-NP removal efficiencies are studied in particular. CWs remove most of the Ag (80–90%) and the largest fraction of Ag is found in/on the biofilm. Detailed electron microscopy analyses suggest that Ag-NPs are transformed into Ag2S in all microcosm experiments. The good correlation between total suspended solids (TSS) and the Ag concentration measured in the effluent indicates that Ag-NPs are bound to the solids in the effluent. Aeration of the microcosms does not affect the release of Ag-NPs from the systems but increasing organic matter leads to increased amounts of Ag passing the CWs, correlating with the increased release of TSS from the CWs. These results suggest that Ag-NPs are retained with the (suspended) solids in CWs and that the removal efficiency of TSS is an important factor determining the discharge of Ag-NPs from CWs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ghent University for the PhD grant of H. Auvinen. We are thankful to the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) for facilitating co-operation between research institutes and would like to thank the members of the COST Action ES1205 (Engineered nanomaterials from wastewater treatment & stormwater to rivers) for fruitful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Applied Ecochemistry, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Hannele Auvinen & Gijs Du Laing

  2. Laboratory of Industrial Water and Ecotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Hannele Auvinen & Diederik P. L. Rousseau

  3. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Ralf Kaegi

Authors
  1. Hannele Auvinen
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  2. Ralf Kaegi
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  3. Diederik P. L. Rousseau
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  4. Gijs Du Laing
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Correspondence to Hannele Auvinen.

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Auvinen, H., Kaegi, R., Rousseau, D.P.L. et al. Fate of Silver Nanoparticles in Constructed Wetlands—a Microcosm Study. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 97 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3285-9

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